Wood River times. [volume] (Hailey, Idaho) 1882-1915, 1887-05-12

the full breadth of the house, front and
rear, and led up to by wide fight
of wooden steps, fanked by two statu-
esque vases, one of which has been thrown
down from its pedestal and never replaced.
A small wing extends from one corner in the
rear, its end projecting little over the side
wall of the main house. The exterior is of
type ordinary enough in this latitude, though
smartly above the average in size. About
thirty PAGES on either side, little in advance
of the line of the main house, are two outlying
cottages oddly and picturesquely built but
conforming in style with each other and the
mansion, and completely surrounded by
wooden galleries One of these is occupied
by Mr.. Davis as an office, where he does all
his writing. The other is devoted to guests,
and in the summer is occupied by a daughter,
Mrs. Hayes, whose husband was of Memphis
at the time of his marriage, but is now
banker i'll Colorado Springs
Upon the front gallery are wide seated and
broad armed rocking chairs, reclining canvas
seats, benches, and in one corner a hammock,
blackened by exposure to the weather, is
swung temptingly. The main doorway OPEN
ing upon this gallery is of plate glass, set in
the woodwork in graceful curves and elabor-
ate floral figures in Frenchy fashion. 1t
opens into an immensely wide hall running
the length of the house, unobstructed by the
staircase, which would disfgure it in a two
story house, and giving full sweep to the
breeze from the gulf, which plays through it
with delicious GOODNESS This hall is the liys
ing room of the family. 1t is full of wide.
soft lounges and round divans in cool up-
hostery, with tables covered with books and
pictures, cabinets crowded with rare pottery
and brio a brac. bit of the precious blue of
the Sevres, Cloissonne plaque, grotesoue
vases and pots filed with wild flowers. ror-
traits in oil and crayon, bronze bust OF
Father Hyan, the southern poet-priest
and innumerable articles of artistic
or reminiscential value, many of them bear
ing pathetic reference to the period of the
rebellion, others with stories of distinguished
people Of the old and new worlds, met as
guests in this famous house or in travels
abroad-in short, place where one could
spend whole days in delightful interest with
one of the family to tell it's stories The
double parlors to the left are much the same.
filled up with quaint and old time furniture
the walls and mantles literally hidden with
pictures and souvenirs of great men and great
events, but the whole produced with the
order OF womanly presence, the conference of
cultivated taste, and the magical touches of
instructive interest which time and distin-
guished associations alone can give Here is
a bust in marble of the boy child killed in
Richmond during the war by fall from
gallery, and here again a crayon
portrait of young jeff Davis, Jr..
who died in Memphis during the epidemic of
1873, whittier he had calamity fastened to
nurse his sister, Mrs. Hayes, sick with yello "
fever She recovered, but her faithful
brother was taken with the fever and
died, and with him the last male offspring
of the president of the confederacy. The
rear perlor is also library, and there the
books which overflow into every room in the
house are crowded into the shelves two and
three rows deep. Here is pointed out the Dor
trait of Mrs. Dorsey, the New Orleans woman
whose will left this fine old place to Mr..
Davis for the passage of his declining wears
Liere also, conspicuous upon an easel in the
center of the room, is an oil portrait of
'Stonewal" jackson, Early and Ewell in
council of war upon the battlefield
The rooms across the hall are the
sleeping apartments Of the family:
the dining room is in the wing, at whose foot,
close to the ground, is a small outlying
kitchen, IS lu>-e M-.--j al plAG 49,. com
pletely covered with q luxurious growth of
roses i'll full bloom. Numerous outhouses. in
Guiding cribs, barns and q carpenter shop. are
@et in the background, hidden by the trees.
Two horses, some few cows, hogs and poultry.
and the merino sheep in the farmyard, CON
'titute the live stock of the establishment.
The condition of the soil doesn't admit of any |
personally directs the cultivation of a planta-
ion which Mrs. Dorsey left to him with the |
mouse, and which lies just opposite one. of his |
OWN ante-bellum plantations, "BrierfieIdn at |
Davis Bend, on the Mississippi river. He has |
also land in Arkansas and Texas, and owns
'ome lots on the Mississippi Gulf coast, near |
which he bought before the war. |
ma was intending to improve upon the out |
break of hostilt;es and afterwards but was |
1pt n hi "a m n CO 1act h. torl
elf, when l saw him in New Orleans the dav |
following my visit to Beauvoir
MY conductor proved himself a most in
elliGent and agreeable guide. He has been in |
Mr.. Davis service for two years and told me
nore, probably, of the life at Beauvoir than T
'ould have gathered in COW ersation with the
amily themselves. He extended me- the
which he said was not shown to all.
II an introduction into Mr.. Davis office in
he outlying cottage. This place is truIy
curious. The room is very small and the
pace is further limited by an even greater
Rowling of books in doubled and tripled
'ows On shelves than in the library of the
main house. A large center table is streyn |
With books, papers and stationery in the
greatest disorder; piles of letters and manu-
cflpt, tied III packages and addressed to the
outhern chieftain in the hands of many
ANGUS men, are thrown carelessly in heaps
ipon the hoor swinging tray full of huge
'oiumes OF American archives takes IN
much room, AMI the few spaces on the walls
eft bare of books are covered with
AIDED engravings Of old cathedral towers and
he like. Here Mr. Davis wrote his history
md here he does all of his literary work.
v no can tell the value and interest of the let
els aud papers which are scattered so reck
ossly about! What contributions they will
10 to the work OF the future historian; what
lourshing zap for political roaring and sec
lonal recrlmination they must contain! An
enterprisinS' newspaper man would have
een tempted to steal when surrounded by
his Invaluable material for sensation and in
controversy over dead issues and
be scratching Of healing scabs.
| sat down on the gallery surrounding this
id literary den of this most famous living
gure of a most momentous struggle of the
asst, and looking out on the blue waters of